2006 Montrachet, Grand Cru, Louis Jadot, Burgundy

Cask sample. Lovely fresh transparent and real class – I’d pay more than £200 extra over Demoiselles for this. Real class and life and complexity and wildness. Wonderful length. Not heavy but quite dense enough. This is really good!

100% from the Chassagne side.

Full yellow. Stone fruit and pineapple aromas are almost exotic following the Chevalier. Like a fruit cocktail in the mouth, with a liqueur-like suggestion, hints of dried fruits and a strong clove spiciness. Broad and rich but uncompromisingly dry on the powerful, slightly aggressive finish. This could hardly be more different from the Chevalier, but then Jadot did not ferment this wine and it completed its malolactic fermentation. "And Montrachet from the Chassagne side is less fine than wine made from vines in Puligny," noted Lardiere.

Representing 9 barrels, all from purchased fruit grown on the Chassagne side of the cru, Jadot’s 2006 Montrachet smells decadently of heliotrope, fading lilies, over-ripe peach, and grilled pineapple; comes to the palate predictably full and rich yet surprisingly fresh and invigorating; and lays down a plush, faintly warm, rich but not especially fine-grained carpet of flavor in the finish. While less dramatic than the Batard or mysterious than the Chevalier, this is nonetheless truly grand, and surely capable of at least a decade’s fascinating evolution.

The impressive collection of Jadot 2006s were slow both in their alcoholic fermentation and their malo-lactic evolution, which director Jacques Lardiere considered all to the good when it came to imposing structure and building complexity in wines of such ripeness and relatively high alcohol. In any case, Jadot whites seldom complete their malo-lactic transformation, and if one seeks a vintage to demonstrate the virtues of that approach, surely 2006 is the poster child. 

A wonderfully fresh, airy and bright nose of citrus and green apple aromas trimmed in a bit of wood spice complement perfectly the big, rich and gorgeously intense full-bodied flavors that also ooze with dry extract driven into a palate staining and explosively long finish. This is actually a beautifully elegant example with superb flavor authority and the purity of expression is flat out terrific. This will require some cellar time first as it is youthfully austere and backward at present.

Drink from 2013 onward